Then he smirked.
"You really don't remember?" he asked.
Daisy swallowed hard. "N-No…"
"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully, brushing a loose strand of her hair away from her face. "You were pretty wild last night. You didn't let me sleep."
Daisy's soul left her body for a second.
"I - what?! Did we- did we actually-?"
Rain leaned in close, lips brushing the shell of her ear.
"You begged," he whispered.
Her breath stopped. Her mind blanked.
Her face went crimson. "W-What do you mean I begged? For what?!"
Rain sat up, stretching again, maddeningly unbothered.
"You kept saying you wanted the 'pain and pleasure game'… Ring any bells?"
Daisy covered her face with both hands, mortified.
Rain continued, only enough to destroy her nerves, not enough to clarify anything.
"And then you asked me to… spoil you."
"Stoppppppppppp... stop, oh my god," she squeaked.
He chuckled.
"But don't worry." He tilted her chin up with a finger, eyes boring into hers. "I didn't give you what you wanted."
"So… nothing happened?" she whispered, disappointed, before she could stop herself.
Rain didn't miss it. "Not for now."
But it'll ... soon, kitty, he thought, biting back the thought before it slipped out.
He stood up from the bed.
"Now that you're doing fine, I'll leave."
"Thanks, Mr. Rain," she murmured.
He paused at the doorway.
"Just Rain," he corrected, almost like an order.
"Thanks… Rain," she tried again.
He shook his head with that same infuriating smile, then walked out.
The door clicked shut, and Daisy sat back in her bed, both palms to her face.
Gosh, I must have gone crazy… what did I even do? Try remembering, Daisy... come on..
Images hit her - bottle number five, the call, her confession, the tablet, the kiss...
"Oh my god!" she gasped, grabbing her head.
Right on the other side of the thin apartment wall, Rain heard the scream of realization.
He stopped mid-sip of his morning water and chuckled to himself.
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Lara's apartment
Zain stepped into Lara's room without hesitation.
"What is it? What about Nick?" Lara asked, arms folded, already impatient.
"Nothing about Nick," he replied casually.
"I just wanted to meet you… so I used that excuse." His smirk made it worse.
Lara's irritation snapped. She turned and walked out of the room without another word.
Zain followed, not losing the smirk for even a second.
"Listen...," he said behind her, "I did have something to tell you. But you never give me a chance to speak, so I had no other option."
Lara stopped halfway down the stairs, turned sharply.
"Fine. Say it. What is it?"
Zain met her eyes, not joking, not teasing - just intent.
"I like you."
Her jaw tightened. No hesitation.
"Get out of my way."
She marched down the remaining steps, wanting to be anywhere but near him.
"Uncle Ben! Uncle Ben!" Zain suddenly called out from behind her.
Lara froze mid-step and spun around, eyes blazing.
"What are you doing? Why are you calling Dad?"
By then Ben had already appeared in the hallway. "Yes? What's going on?"
Zain spoke before Lara could interrupt.
"Uncle, your daughter doesn't want to come to our event in City B. Can you please convince her to join us? Since you have a business trip and can't come, it would mean a lot if she attended on behalf of your family."
Lara shot Zain a deadly look she could almost strangle him on the spot.
Ben turned to Lara.
"Lara, do you have anything scheduled for the next three days?"
"No, Dad. Nothing major. My team can manage without me," she admitted reluctantly.
"Can you please attend Adam's family event on my behalf," Ben requested.
Lara's nails dug into her palm. The trap had been sealed perfectly, effortlessly by Zain.
And he knew it. From across the hall, he gave her a slow, silent smile.